The Wild Rover
by FamousWolf
Summary: Devlin is a happy-go-lucky pirate who grew up with Portgas D. Ace and Monkey D. Luffy. While Luffy dreams of becoming the Pirate King and Ace dreams of finding the One Piece for Whitebeard, Devlin dreams of one day joining the crew of her childhood crush Red-Haired Shanks who promised to let her join if she could beat him. Will she end up falling for Ace or chasing after Shanks?
1. Chapter 1: I'm Gonna Kill You

**_Chapter 1: I'm Gonna Kill You._**

A ** _/N: I've changed Shanks' age for this story. Instead of him being 27 when he meets Luffy he's going to be 20. He's also going to speak with an Irish accent because I always imagined him with one._**

I've been a wild rover for many a year

And I've spent all my money on whiskey and beer

And now I'm returning with gold in great store

And I never will play the wild rover no more.

\--"The Wild Rover" by The Dubliners

"Ace! Give it back!" A little blonde hair girl screams, while jumping up and down to try and grab the object from the taller, black hair boy's hand. The boy holds his hand even higher in the air and laughs at the 10 year old girl's attempts to get the object.

"Why would I do that when I'm having so much fun?" The 10 year old, freckled faced boy called Ace teases the girl, "If you want your hair tie back so badly then why don't you _make_ me give it back, Dev?" The girl, Devlin or Dev for short, lunges at Ace tackling him to the ground and getting into a fist fight with the boy.

"Hahahaha!" A 7 year old black hair boy laughs at the fighting pair from the safety of the back of a dilapidated couch. "Go, Ace!"

The fight ends after a few minutes with the two combatants lying on the floor both trying to catch their breath. Ace has a black eye and a swollen lip while Dev has a bloody nose and is holding her ribs. Ace grins, "Uh-oh. You're bleeding, Devlin...you better run off to Makino like you always do."

"Shut up, Ace! I _don't_ always go to Makino when I'm bleeding!" Dev says, defensively.

The 7 year old boy chuckles, "Yes, you do, Dev."

Devlin scowls at the boy, "Shut up, Luffy! You're only agreeing with Ace because he's your brother." She gets up off of the floor then sits down on the torn up couch and pouts.

The two black haired boys flop down on the couch on either side of her. Although the two boys are not truly blood related you wouldn't know it just by looking at them: both have messy black hair, chocolate brown eyes, and big goofy grins. The biggest difference between the boys, physically at least, is that Ace is taller than Luffy and his cheeks are covered in freckles.

"Here," Ace says, handing Dev a handkerchief, "press it against your nose and tilt your head down."

She glares at him, "I know how to treat a bloody nose...you've given me plenty of them." Her tactic of trying to make him feel guilty obviously failed as Ace now has a proud grin on his face. "You're not supposed to be proud of hitting a girl, you idiot!"

He chuckles, "Is _that_ what you're supposed to be?"

Devlin launches herself at Ace and they begin to fight again. They roll off of the couch and land on the wooden floor with a loud thud. Suddenly, the cracked door slams open, nearly flying off it's hinges. In steps a huge, older man with grey hair and a grey beard. He's wearing a black suit with a white coat over his shoulders, the traditional outfit of a Marine Vice-Admiral. This man is Monkey D. Garp, Luffy's grandfather and guardian to Ace and Devlin. He looks down at the two fighting youngsters and yells, "PORTGAS D. ACE! How many times do I have to tell you that a man should always treat a lady with respect!" He grabs the boy by the back of the neck and lifts him into the air until Ace is eye level with the older man.

Ace smirks, "Well, show me a lady and I'll show her some respect."

Devlin glowers at Ace, but it goes unnoticed. Then an idea crosses the little blonde's mind and she pretends to cry. "M...m...Mister Garp...A...Ace...he took...my...ha...hair tie and...th...then...he made my...no...nose bl...bleed..."

Ace looks at her in surprise and then looks back at Garp in alarm. "Wait a minute, Gramps. She's fak..." but he never gets to finish because Garp slams his fist down on top of the boy's head causing a huge bump to appear. Garp lowers Ace slightly to where he's not looking the old man in the eyes anymore, but his feet is still not touching the ground. Ace looks over at Dev and she sticks her tongue out at him. He scowls at her then whispers, "I'm gonna kill you, Dev."

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Garp yells, lifting Ace back up to his eye level.

"N... nothing, Gramps."

Garp sits Ace back on the floor and the boy starts to rub the top of his head, grimacing when his hand brushes against the rather large bump that's there. Garp sighs and looks at the three children, "If you two can't get along then I'm afraid Devlin will have to go and live with Makino."

This statement causes all three to look at him in alarm. "But, Gramps!" both Ace and Luffy shout.

"But, Mister Garp...we were only messing around. Ace and I get along very well."

"YOU CAN'T SEND DEV AWAY! She's my big sister!" Luffy yells, extremely upset.

Ace stands in front of Devlin and gives Garp a defiant glare. "You can't take Dev away, I won't let you!"

Garp looks at all three children: his flesh and blood grandson, Monkey D. Luffy, standing on the old couch with a huge frown on his face. Portgas D. Ace, his adopted grandson, who apparently inherited his father's passion for protecting the ones that he loves. Then there's little Devlin, who Garp had found five years ago all alone in the woods.

He remembers that day all too well. He was on his way home when he came upon the small blonde. She was covered in her own blood and crying hysterically. Her tearful eyes shot up to look at him when he walked into the small clearing she was in. Her ocean blue eyes filled with terror and she had turned to run away from him, but she ended up collapsing from blood loss. Garp had quickly scooped the girl up in his arms then ran back to the village to the doctor. The doctor quickly patched her up and Garp brought the girl back to his house. When he had walked into the house, Luffy and Ace had come running. Luffy was climbing all over Garp trying to get a better look at the girl. Luffy's movements had woken the girl up and she opened her eyes and her beautiful ocean blue orbs had met Ace's chocolate brown eyes. Ace, had come to a complete stop and just stared at the girl. It was at this moment that he knew his 5 year old adopted grandson had become smitten with this blonde haired girl.

Of course, Ace was and still is unaware of his true feelings towards Devlin. And Dev...well, she can be as thick as Luffy sometimes and that's saying _a lot_.

Garp let's out a chuckle, "Relax, you three. I was only joking." Luffy, Ace, and Dev visibly relax and Garp frowns a little. "But heed my warning, there will come a time when you three will have to separate. Devlin, when you turn 13 I will be taking you to another island where you will attend an all girl's school." Dev makes a look of disgust, being careful not to let Garp see it. "There you will learn how to be a proper young lady and when you turn 17 I will marry you off to the man I see fit." Dev rolls her eyes at the old man's vision of her future while Ace scowls at the thought of Dev getting married... especially to a complete stranger.

Garp then turns to Luffy and Ace, "When you boys turn 17, I'm signing both of you up to be Marines. I can see it now...both of you rising through the ranks..." As Garp rambles on and on about their futures the trio sneak out of the house, all three mumbling about wanting to be pirates.


	2. Chapter 2: Pirates!

**_Chapter 2: Pirates!_**

Two weeks pass by and Garp has left to return to the Marine base where he is stationed. Ace, Dev, and their friend Sabo are sitting by the edge of a river trying to catch fish for their dinner. Luffy is visiting Makino in town so they really don't expect to see him until it's dark out.

"So Ace...what are you going to do when you turn 17?" Dev asks as she stares at the water.

"Huh? What do you mean?" he asks sluggishly, starting to fall asleep.

"About Garp wanting to enroll you into the Marines?"

"Oh..." Ace shakes himself awake slightly. "Sabo and I are going to set sail on the ocean. We're going to become pirates and form our own crew. We'll become known throughout the world!" Ace tells her with a huge grin on his face. He looks at her and his smile fades away, "What about you, Dev? What are _you_ going to do? You only have three years of freedom left..."

Dev turns her head and grins at Ace, "I have the perfect plan! When Garp takes me to that prissy all girl's school I'm going to raise hell and cause so much trouble that they'll send me back!"

The two boys remain silent for a moment then they both burst out laughing. "That's definitely a plan thought up by our Devlin!" Sabo states while laughing so hard that his top hat falls off his head.

Ace is rolling around on the ground laughing his head off. "It sure is! It's the infamous 'I-can't-think-of-a-real-plan-so-I'll-just-annoy-them-to-death' plan."

A bit of pink appears on Dev's cheeks, "Shut up!"

The rest of the day passes rather peacefully. Ace falls asleep numerous times leaving Dev wishing that she had her permanent marker so she could draw on his face. Instead, she settles on using mud to write on his bare chest 'Dev was here'. By the time Ace wakes up again and discovers her prank then wipes the mud off, it's too late. Most of his chest is sunburned except for where the mud used to be. "Devlin!" Ace yells then gets to feet and starts to chase Dev around.

At sunset, the trio decides to go home to their clubhouse. Sabo has caught the most fish, since he was the only one not sleeping or playing pranks. Ace managed to catch three fish between his narcolepsy attacks. However, Dev didn't catch any fish because she forgot to use bait. Ace chuckles, "Looks like you're cleaning and cooking the fish, Dev...unless you want to go hungry tonight." That is a rule they all agreed on: that whoever catches the least amount of fish has to clean and cook all of the fish for dinner. The only exception is for Luffy, who they wouldn't trust with a knife in a million years.

"YOU GUYS!!!" Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Luffy is running towards them with his arms flailing wildly through the air. "PIRATES! REAL PIRATES!!"

Dev and Ace's eyes widen, "WHAT!"

Luffy reaches them and stops running, bending over and resting his hands on his knees trying to catch his breath. Once he can breathe properly again Luffy shouts, "It's true! They arrived at the docks at noon and are now at Party's bar!" Ace and Dev look at each other, but before they can say anything Luffy continues. "They're really nice! I met the first mate and the captain...his name is Shanks and he is awesome! Come on, you guys have to meet him!"

Dev sighs in disappointment, "I can't, Luffy. I have to cook dinner."

Sabo looks at her then sighs, "I'll do it for you...but only this once."

A huge grin spreads across Dev's face and she rushes over to Sabo and gives him a huge hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! You're the greatest, Sabo!"

Sabo's cheeks are bright red, "Yeah, I know and it's about time you admitted it, Dev."

She releases him then turns and starts to run in the direction that Luffy just came from, grabbing said boy's arm and dragging him behind her. Luffy in turn grabs Ace's arm catching him by surprise and causing him to drop his fish.

They reach Foosha Village about twenty minutes later and Luffy takes the lead to Party's Bar. He pushes the swinging doors open and enters the bar. Dev is right behind Luffy and Ace is a bit further behind with his hands in his pockets and trying to act like he doesn't care.

"Wow! Look at all the pirates!" Devlin shouts, a big grin on her face and drawing the attention of several pirates.

The three children begin making their way to the back of the bar. Every now and then a pirate will greet Luffy by name. When they are almost to their destination a male voice calls out, "Back again, eh, Luffy?"

All three turn around and see a tall man with long black hair pulled back into a loose ponytail and with a cigarette between his lips looking at them in amusement. "Mister First Mate!" Luffy shouts and drags both Ace and Dev over to his table. "I want you to meet my older brothers Ace and Dev."

Dev's face turns into a large frown and she slaps Luffy on the back of the head. "I'm a girl not a boy! So I would be your sister not your brother."

Ace laughs, "It's your fault, Dev. If you would act more like a _girl_ than a _boy_ Luffy wouldn't get so confused."

Dev is about to lunge at Ace and start another fist fight when a male voice stops her in her tracks. The man speaks with an accent she's never heard, but she really likes it. "Oi! Luffy yer back!"

They turn in the direction of the voice and as soon as Dev sees the man her face turns almost as red as the man's hair. Dev's mouth falls open as she stares at the most attractive man she has ever seen. His hair is a bright crimson red and his eyes; which seem to be shining with glee; are a obsidian color. Three scars run across his left eye and he has a light goatee around his mouth. The man is grinning and waving one of his arms at the trio.

"Shanks!" Luffy yells, grabs Dev's arm, and takes off towards the man. As they get closer to Shanks, Dev's heart starts to race and she feels her stomach trying to tie itself into a knot. Closer and closer they get to Shanks until...

"Eeeek!" Dev let's out a loud squeal and pulls her arm out of Luffy's grasp. She flees behind the bar and into the kitchen, leaving behind two very confused boys and a surprised pirate captain.

She runs up to Makino, who is preparing food for the pirates, and wraps her arms around the older, green haired woman's legs. Makino is taken by surprise and nearly topples over. "Dev! What's wrong? Has Ace been picking on you again?" Makino puts down her spatula and wraps her arms around Dev in a comforting embrace. Makino looks up and sees Shanks leaning over on his seat in order to see through the door and what is happening in the kitchen.

Dev shakes her head, "No. I feel funny."

Makino raises an eyebrow and her hazel eyes meet Dev's blue ones. "Are you sick?" She puts a hand on Dev's still red forehead. "We'll, you don't have a high temperature, that's good...Describe to me what you're feeling, sweetie."

Devlin's face finally returns to it's normal color. "My heart was beating really fast and it felt like my tummy was trying to tie itself in a knot. I've never felt like that before."

Makino gently smiles at the young girl, "Did this happen when you were with Ace?"

Dev looks at Makino in confusion, "No. What does that butthole Ace have to do with anything?" Unfortunately, she says this really loudly and everyone in the bar hears her and several pirates burst out laughing.

"So when did you feel this way?" Makino says, unwrapping her arms from around the small girl then standing up.

"When I saw the red headed man."

Speaking of said man, he is leaning over on his bar stool again trying to see what's happening, but this time he loses his balance and falls off the stool. Laughter erupts from the bar and even Dev chuckles a little. Shanks picks himself up off of the ground and sits back down on his bar stool as he places his strawhat back on his head. There's a huge grin on the man's face and he's laughing along with his crew.

Makino smiles down at Devlin, "Don't worry about that feeling, Dev. You just have a crush on Captain Shanks."

Dev's face twists in confusion, "What's a crush?"

Outside in the main area, Ace and Luffy are baffled by Dev's behavior. She's never ran away from anyone or anything before. Ace's curiosity is peaked and he tries to get closer to the kitchen to listen in on Makino's and Dev's conversation. He can hear Makino's voice, but can't understand anything that she's saying.

Luffy, on the other hand, has completely lost interest in what the two girls are doing. He walks over to Shanks and starts to tug on his pants. "Shanks, tell us an amazing pirate story!"

Shanks chuckles, "Right then, lads. Take a seat." Luffy jumps up onto the bar stool to Shanks' right and Ace sits on the one to his left. Shanks turns to Ace, "Sorry, lad, but I didn't catch yer name."

"It's Ace. And the SCAREDY CAT," Ace says, raising his voice so that Dev can hear him in the kitchen, "is Devlin, but we call her Dev for short."

Dev peeks out from around the door frame to the kitchen. "I am NOT a scaredy cat, booger breath."

"Yeah, you're right. You're more of a chicken."

Dev fully steps out of the kitchen, "Am not!"

"Are too!"

Dev is now on top of the counter and glaring at Ace, "Am not, butt munch!"

"Are too, dork!"

Shanks and the rest of his crew watches the bickering pair in amusement. "Narcoleptic moron!"

"Yellow menace!"

Makino walks out of the kitchen and smacks both Ace and Dev on the back of the head. "That's enough you two." Both start to rub the back of their heads, mumbling under their breath.

"Bwahahahaha!" Shanks laughs loudly at Ace's and Dev's antics. "Ye two remind me of myself and an old friend of mine when I was 'bout yer age." Dev blushes profusely and Ace scowls at her, unable to understand why she behaves so strangely around the pirate captain. When Shanks stops laughing he looks at the little blonde hair girl and is amazed when he finds himself looking into eyes as blue as the ocean. Dev starts to get down from the counter when Shanks speaks to her, "Come here, luv. I ain't gonna hurt ye." Dev hesitates slightly and Shanks takes the opportunity to reach over and picks her up. He sits her down on his lap and her entire face goes red again. "There we go. Now how 'bout I tell ye 'bout the time my ship was surrounded by seakings?"

As Shanks tells them the story, Dev's shyness gradually disappears and she stares up at Shanks in awe. Luffy is also staring at the pirate captain in awe. Ace, however, is frowning at the red haired man; jealous of his close proximity to Dev and the reactions he receives from her.


	3. Chapter 3: Devlin's Mistake

**_Chapter 3: Devlin's Mistake_**

By the end of Shanks' story Dev's shyness is gone and she is bouncing on his lap, begging to hear another story and talking a mile a minute. "That was SO cool! It must be awesome to be a pirate! I want to be a pirate when I get older and so does Ace, Luffy, and Sabo. Sabo is the fourth member of our crew. He has blonde hair and a missing front tooth and he always wears a top hat. Ace and Sabo want to form their own crew and become known throughout the world!"

Dev's energy is apparently infectious because now Luffy is bouncing up and down on his bar stool beside Shanks. "Yeah! And I'm gonna be the Pirate King!"

"Oh? Are ye now?" Luffy nods energetically. "And how do ye expect ta be a pirate, much less King of the Pirates, when ye can't even swim?"

"I'd just stay on the boat."

Shanks turns his attention back to the yellow haired girl on his lap. "What about ye, lass? Why do ye want ta be a pirate?"

Dev grins at Shanks, "For the adventures of course! I want to travel all over the world; meeting new people, exploring islands and discovering new things." She gets off of Shanks' lap and stands on the counter. "Maybe even cross swords with some of the world's greatest swordsmen." She pretends to be fighting an invisible foe with a sword. "Or even make incredible escapes from the clutches of the Marines and other pirates."

Shanks grins at her, his eyes gleaming in amusement. "Those are the same reasons why I became a pirate. And in my opinion, they're the best parts of being a pirate."

Dev blushes a little. Ace rolls his eyes at her reaction before saying, "It'll be kind of hard to be a pirate while wearing one of those fancy dresses that ladies always wear, Devlin."

Dev's face falls as she remembers that Garp wants to send her to a fancy all girl's school. She flops down on her butt on top of the counter and begins to pout. Shanks' smile fades as well and he puts a finger under her chin then lifts her head to look at him. "What's wrong, luv? What could possibly be so bad that it'd put such a huge frown on such an adorable face?"

Dev blushes, "I just remembered that Garp wants to take me to a stupid all girl's school in a few years. But I don't want to go! I don't want to be some prissy girl who's afraid to get dirty or do anything that's fun." Suddenly, her face lights up with a huge grin as an idea occurs to her. "Let me join your crew! I'm going to be a pirate anyway, so why not join the greatest pirate crew in the world!"

Luffy jumps to his feet standing on his bar stool, "Hey! I want to join too!"

Shanks chuckles and the other pirates grin in amusement. "We're honored that ye think we're the greatest crew in the world, but I'm afraid that yer both too young ta sail on the open ocean."

"Aww," both Devlin and Luffy pout. Dev stands up again, "But I have experience sailing! I sailed to this island with my family..."

"WHAT?!" Ace and Luffy shout then climb on top of the bar with Dev and begin to crowd her, rapidly asking questions. "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US BEFORE?!" Ace asks. "DID YOU REALLY SAIL HERE?! FROM WHERE?!" Luffy asks this time. "WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR FAMILY? IF YOU WERE WITH THEM WHEN YOU ARRIVED, WHERE ARE THEY NOW?!" Ace again.

Dev frowns, her face darkening and she says in a voice that's barely above a whisper, "I don't want to talk about it."

Shanks frowns as Dev shoves past the two boys and climbs on to his lap, burying her head into his chest. "It's alright, lass. Ye don't have ta tell us anything if ye don't want ta."

Luffy sits back down on his chair and Ace jumps down from the counter, "Luffy, Dev. It's time to go. Sabo is probably waiting for us."

Dev looks at Ace with twin wet trails running down her face, "I want to stay."

Luffy looks at Dev then at Ace, "If Dev is staying then I'm staying too!"

Ace puffs out his chest, issuing a challenge of a fight to the little blonde haired girl. "I'm the oldest so I'm in charge when Gramps is away. And I say it's time to go!"

Dev wipes the tear trails away then puffs out her own chest to show that she accepts his challenge. She climbs down from Shanks' lap and walks over to Ace. "If I win we stay, if you win we go."

"Deal." Ace replies and two begin their fight. They throw punches at each other while wrestling around on the ground. The Red Hair pirates all gather around the fighting pair and start to cheer on their favorite.

"What's going on out here?" Makino asks, walking out of the kitchen.

Shanks turns to her, "Ace and Devi are fightin' over whether ta stay or go."

Makino is about to shout at the two fighting kids when the fight comes to a sudden end. Ace and Dev are laying on the ground, both breathing heavily. Dev's stomach let's out a loud growl and Ace's own stomach answers with a growl of it's own. Ace gets to his feet first, "Now let's go home. The fish is probably cold by now."

"FOOD!" Luffy shouts then jumps down from his seat.

Dev moans then says to Ace, "Carry me." Ace raises an eyebrow then bends down, but instead of picking her up to carry her, he grabs one of her legs and begins to drag her. Dev laughs happily, back to her normal happy-go-lucky self. She lifts her arm and begins to wave at the pirates. "Bye, Shanks! Bye, Ben! Bye, Yasopp! Bye, Lucky Roo! Bye, other pirates that I haven't learned the names of yet, but will eventually!"

"Bye, Shanks! Mister First Mate!" Luffy yells then runs to catch up with Ace and Dev, who are almost to the swinging doors of Party's Bar.

"Bye, Devi! Bye, Luffy! Bye, Ace!" Shanks shouts back.

"Goodbye, Devlin. Luffy." Ben says.

"Bye-bye, Dev and Luffy!" Yasopp and Lucky Roo yell, the later through a mouthful of meat.

"Good-bye, hyperactive blonde girl that has a crush on our captain! Bye, Luffy!" The rest of the pirate crew yells.

Luffy suddenly jumps on Ace's back nearly causing the other boy to fall over onto his face.

"Luffy! Get off! Do I look like a donkey to you?!" Ace shouts.

"You might not look like one, but you sure do act like one." Dev says. Ace turns and punches Dev hard on the leg that he's holding. "OW! Charley horse! Charley horse!"

The Red Hair Pirates break out laughing at the kids' antics as the three children leave the bar; Ace still dragging Dev while struggling to carry Luffy on his back. When the children are gone Shanks returns his attention to Makino. "So what's those three's story, lass?"

She looks at him with sadness in her eyes, "Those poor kids. Vice-Admiral Monkey D. Garp is Luffy's grandfather and both Ace and Devlin's guardian." At this, Shanks' eyebrows raise in surprise. "And while Garp really does care for the three of them, his job forces him to leave them alone for long periods of time. So they really have nobody but each other."

Shanks frowns, "Okay. So Monkey D. Garp is Luffy's grandfather...and I know who Ace's parents were." Makino looks at him confused, but he pretends not to notice her questioning look. "But what about lil' Devi? Who are her family and where are they?"

Makino shakes her head, "Nobody knows. Garp found her in the middle of the forest five years ago, alone and covered in her own blood. The village doctor was amazed that she was even alive when Garp brought her to him."

"What happened ta her?" Shanks asks.

"No one knows. Until today, no one even knew that she came from a different island. She's always refused to talk about anything from her past even with Ace. But whatever happened to that poor girl must have been horrible because for over two years she didn't say a word to anyone. She never smiled and looked at everyone with suspicion, like she expected them to attack her at any moment." A few tears escape from Makino's eyes as she remembers those few horrible years. "She used to flinch away from anyone who even tried to touch her except for Ace and Luffy."

Shanks pulls his hat down to cover his eyes in shadow; he knows the most likely reason for Dev's behavior back then was because someone had beaten her severely. "So what happened ta turn her inta the hyperactive sweetheart that she is taday?"

"It was Ace. He was her constant companion; he would talk almost non-stop to her, but she never responded. He used to just call her Sunflower because no one knew her name. Then one day Ace was talking to her and she spoke to him. She only said, 'My name is Devlin,' and that was what finally broke her out of her shell. Now Dev is a giant bundle of endless energy."

Months pass by and the Red Hair Pirates have decided to make Foosha Village their temporary base. Dev and Luffy visit Shanks and his crew almost every day. Shanks will tell them stories or even sing them a song from his home island. Dev will then start asking him questions a mile a minute, about everything and anything, from her spot on his lap. Luffy is usually stuffing his face beside them. Shanks even gave them a tour of his ship, the Red Force, and Devlin immediately fell in love with the ship...especially the dragon figurehead. She would often explore the ship from top to bottom, accompanied by Shanks or Ben Beckman of course. There was only one room that they didn't let her go into, the Treasure Room, but she's okay with that. After all, to Dev, Shanks' idea of treasure is rum and she's not old enough to drink yet, so she has little to no interest in the room.

The only time that the two children don't visit is when the two tip off the pirates that Garp is returning to the island. That's when the pirates decide to leave Dawn Island in order to avoid any trouble. Of course, both Dev and Luffy beg Shanks to take them with him, but he refuses every time. When the Red Hair Pirates eventually return, Dev and Luffy are always there to greet them, usually jumping up and down on the docks in excitement. They then get into a fist fight over who gets the first piggyback ride from Shanks, which Dev always wins.

Of course, the red headed captain tries his best to spend an equal amount of time with both kids, and even with Ace when he decides to visit, which isn't as often. Shanks tries to find things that the three of them can do together, but on occasion he'll spend an entire day with Luffy and the next day with Devlin. When Shanks is spending the day with Luffy, Devlin will usually hang around with Ben; who teaches her how to tie different sailing knots; or with Yasopp; who teaches her how to shoot using a slingshot. When it's Dev's turn to spend the day with Shanks, Luffy can be found either with Yasopp; listening to his wild stories; or Lucky Roo; chowing down.

This is one of the times that the pirates are gone. Shanks told them that he and his crew were going to a nearby island to look for treasure and that they would be back in three weeks. Luffy started begging Shanks to take him with them, but, for the first time, Devlin did not. Shanks raised an eyebrow at this, but didn't say anything about it since she still gave them her usual hyperactive farewell; bouncing all over the place and waving her arms while she screams goodbye to them.

That was almost two weeks ago and all Dev and Luffy have done is sit around and mope. "So boorrredd," says Luffy while laying on the couch.

"Me too," Dev agrees, laying on her back in the middle of the floor.

Ace and Sabo walk into the living room where Luffy and Devlin are. "Hey, you two. Get up. We're going to explore the southwest woods today." Ace says, nudging Dev with his foot.

"I don't wanna," Luffy replies, rolling over and falling face first onto the floor.

"I miss Shanks," Dev says.

Ace frowns and is about to kick Dev when Sabo speaks, "You know...this is an excellent chance for an adventure. Maybe you two will have an exciting story to tell Shanks when he gets back."

At this idea, both Dev and Luffy jump to their feet, shouting "Let's go!" They race each other to the door and get stuck as they both try to leave at the same time. "Arrgh! Dev if you weren't so boyish we could both fit through the door!"

"What's that supposed to mean!?"

"If you had a girl's figure we..." WHAM! Dev punches Luffy on the back of his head, sending him flying through the door. Meanwhile, Ace and Sabo are rolling on the floor, laughing hysterically.

"Are we there yet?" A bored Devlin asks.

"Almost," Ace replies.

"I'm hungry," says Luffy.

"We'll eat before we go into the woods, when we get there." Ace tells Luffy.

"Are we there yet?" Luffy this time.

"I'm hungry too," Dev whines.

"Ace, maybe we should stop and eat. It's almost noon and none of us ate any breakfast." The blonde hair, top hat wearing boy says, starting to feel ravenous himself. Sabo was always the sensible one of the group.

Ace stops and they all hear his stomach growl loudly. He sighs, "All right. Let's eat lunch."

Although never really voted on, Ace is the group of four's leader. They all agreed upon it without really saying anything. To the other three Ace just seemed to be the natural choice for their leader. And although Dev fights with him a lot, she still acknowledges him as her leader.

They all sit in a circle and Sabo takes off his bag then unzips it. He hands out sandwiches to the others then begins to eat his own. Ace and Luffy pretty much stuff their entire sandwiches in their mouths. And now Luffy is eyeballing Dev's sandwich.

She pulls her sandwich further away from Luffy and growls at him. Luffy pouts then gets an idea. Luffy jumps to his feet and points towards the ocean. "Hey! It's Shanks! I see Shanks' ship!"

Devlin jumps to her feet and drops her sandwich, "Where, where?!" She looks at where Luffy's pointing, but doesn't see anything. "Hey!" She turns back around just in time to see the last bit of her sandwich disappear into Luffy's mouth. "Luffy!" she whines. "Now what am I suppose to do for food?"

Luffy grins at her, "Not my problem."

"Yeah, you're the one who was stupid enough to be outsmarted by _Luffy_." Ace says, smirking.

"Fine! I'll find some fruit or berries to eat!" She tells them before stomping off in the direction of the nearby woods.

"Be careful you don't get eaten _by_ monsters first!" Ace teases her.

Dev ignores him and continues to stomp through the trees and shrubs looking for anything edible. Her foot stomps down on a weak spot on the ground and the ground collapses beneath her. She let's out a cry of surprise as she starts to fall down a dark hole.

As she's falling, her skin begins to turn black forming a sort of armor to protect her. She lands in a huge pile of rotten leaves. She slowly gets to her feet and checks herself for injuries. But it's of little use, she can barely see her hand even though she's holding it a couple of inches away from her face.

She sighs and looks up seeing a tiny speck of blue above her. "Geez, that's a long way up. How did I even survive that fall? I guess I should look for another way out...Man, is it dark in here. I wish I had a light." Suddenly, a dull blue light appears deeper inside of the cave. "Oh, I see how this works...I wish I had a large bowl of ramen!" Nothing happens.

Dev sighs in disappointment, "Fine. I'll just explore then." She wanders deeper into the cave heading towards the blue light and occasionally tripping on rocks. As she travels deeper into the cave the light seems to be pulsing; fading then growing brighter again and then repeating.

After about an hour of stumbling around in the dark, Dev finally finds the source of the blue glow. The cavern she just stumbled into is vast and in the middle sits a huge rock surrounded by a deep pool of water. She ventures farther into the cavern, which is engulfed in a bright blue light that is emitting from on top of the rock pedestal. The little blonde's jaw drops and her eyes widen in delight as she spots the source of the blue glow. Sitting on top of the pedestal, towering far above her, is an iridescent blue jewel. Dev is struck breathless by it's beauty, even though she doesn't have a good view of the precious gem.

Curiosity finally gets the better of her and she jumps into the water then swims over to the rock. She crawls onto the small amount of ground around the base of the pedestal then begins to climb the rock and, after what seems like hours, she finally makes it to the top. Hauling herself onto the flat top of the rock, Dev gets her first true look at the jewel and her mouth falls open in awe. The beauty of the jewel is incomparable to anything that she has ever seen before. It's the length of an adult's index finger, but what makes this jewel truly unique is it's coloration: a pristine blue, a seafoam green, and a small amount of white all mixed together. To Devlin, it looks like the ocean has been trapped inside of this gemstone.

A large grin breaks across Dev's face at the thought of how happy Shanks would be to receive a jewel as pretty as this. With the thought of making Shanks happy running through her mind, she reaches out and picks up the jewel. Instantly, her remaining strength and energy is zapped away causing her to pass out and fall backwards off the rock and towards the small patch of ground near the base of the rock pedestal... more than twenty-five feet bellow her.


	4. Chapter 4: Lost

**_Chapter 4: Lost..._**

Where is she?" Ace asks out loud as he paces back and forth in front of the other two boys. "She should have been back by now! It's been an hour!"

Sabo sighs, "I knew Ace or I should have gone with Dev...her sense of direction is horrible! You could tell her to go right and she would go left."

Ace lowers his head in shame, "It's my fault."

Sabo gets to his feet, "This is nobody's fault. But what do we do now, Ace? Should we look for Dev ourselves again or should we go back to town and get help?"

Ace thinks about it for a moment then turns to Luffy, "Luffy, go back to Party's Bar and tell Makino that Dev's gone missing. She can put a search party together while Sabo and I continue to look."

Luffy quickly jumps to his feet, "Okay, Ace!" He takes off running in...well, let's just say in the general direction that the village is in.

Ace and Sabo look at each other in exasperation. "That was a really good idea, Ace. Now we only have to find one lost person instead of two."

Ace nods, "We'll meet back here in a hour. By then Luffy should be back with more people."

The two boys head in separate directions, each calling Devlin's name then listening carefully in hopes of hearing a reply.

Dev wakes up several hours later in a daze. "What happened? Where am I?" Then everything comes back to her and she begins to pout. She looks around at her surroundings and sees the strange jewel not far from her. It's still glowing brightly, allowing Dev to see enough to crawl over to it. She picks the gem up and carefully examines it. It doesn't seem to have been damaged during the fall, but something is definitely different about it. That's when she notices exactly what it is; a red glow is now emitting from the center of the jewel. Dev's eyebrows furrow in confusion and her mind is running around in circles trying to figure out how this is all possible.

First, she survives two falls that should have killed or at least injured her. The first, being over seventy-five feet, definitely should have killed her; a huge pile of dead leaves at the bottom to break her fall or not. The second fall should have at least broken several of her bones, but as she sits there wiggling her arms and legs she realizes that she isn't hurt at all. She stares down at her hands with a frown and thinks to herself, 'Maybe my family was right...Maybe I really _am_ a monster.'

Second, is this strange jewel, which not only glows, but also contains several traits from different gemstones: the deep blue of a sapphire, the pristine green of an emerald, and the unbreakable nature of a diamond.

Dev shakes her head then stands up. She could sit here thinking about these strange things, but doing so wouldn't get her out of this cave. So, using the light from the gem to illuminate her way, Dev begins to walk deeper inside the cave looking for a way out.

With the sun setting on what is now the third day of searching since Devlin's disappearance, the group of villagers looking for the lost girl decide to call it a day. Some of the villagers have begun to lose hope of finding her. However, Ace, Sabo, and Luffy refuse to give up on Dev. Determined to find her no matter what, the three boys have only taken a break from looking by force, usually by Makino who, literally, has to have them carried to her bar at the end of each day.

Today is no different than the previous days; three of the men from Foosha Village carry the resistant boys back to Party's Bar and place them down at the counter. Makino starts to make dinner for all of the exhausted men and women of the search party.

Sitting on a bar stool behind the counter, Luffy keeps his head down with tears in his eyes. "This is all my fault. If I hadn't eaten Dev's sandwich, she wouldn't of wandered off." He begins to sob, his barely contained tears now flowing freely down his cheeks.

Sabo places his hand on Luffy's shoulder, trying to comfort the younger boy. "It's not your fault, Luffy. I never should have let her wander off by herself. I knew how horrible her sense of direction is yet I didn't try to stop her." Sabo tells Luffy, his own tears starting to leave twin trails down his face.

"Quit being crybabies. This isn't anybody's fault...stuff like this always seems to happen to Devlin. You'll see...tomorrow we'll find her and it will turn out that she fell asleep or she was chasing butterflies again." Ace reassures the other two boys, but can not hide the deeply worried look on his face.

\--2 Days Later--

"Land, ho!" The crew mate up in the Crow's nest of The Red Force shouts as he catches the first glimpse of Dawn Island.

Captain Red-Haired Shanks rushes to the dragon head masthead in excitement and looks at the small black dot of the island on the horizon. He's grown rather fond of this interesting little island and, especially, to the two little rugrats that seems to have latched onto him. He rests a hand on the masthead, which is little Dev's favorite spot on the ship.

Even though he's excited to be returning to the island sooner than expected, for the past few days he has also been feeling that something is seriously wrong. As he ponders on what could possibly be wrong, his smile fades from his face. His first mate walks up beside him with a lit cigarette between his lips. "What's the matter captain?" Ben asks the red headed man.

"Hmm?" Shanks turns to his First Mate, "Just a gut feelin'."

Ben narrows his eyes, "Good or bad?"

"Bad."

"I'll go and tell the men to be on the alert," Ben says before turning around and leaving the young captain alone.

The sun is just starting to sink below the horizon as The Red Force begins to weigh anchor at Foosha Village docks. When Shanks sees that the docks are empty of two certain hyperactive children he instantly knows that his gut feeling was right. Something is wrong. Even if they are returning a few days early, Luffy and Devlin should have spotted the ship and been at the docks dancing, singing, and celebrating the return of their favorite pirate crew. But instead the docks are empty and eerily quiet.

Shanks steps onto the dock with Ben, Yasopp, and Lucky Roo close behind him. "It would appear that your gut feeling was correct, captain. Something is seriously wrong." Ben says while putting a cigarette between his lips and lighting it.

Yasopp then chimes in, "I can understand Luffy's absence; it's dinnertime and he wouldn't pass up the chance for food. But Dev..."

"She has a huge crush on the captain," Ben bluntly states. "There's no way she would ever miss the chance to greet him."

Shanks puts his hand on top of his straw hat, "Let's go see if Luffy is at Party's and find out what has happened ta our hyperactive blonde." He starts to walk towards Party's Bar in a hurry and, without saying a word, the entire crew quickly follows their captain. Everyone of them worried about Luffy and Devlin.

Shanks walks through the swinging double doors of the bar and a depressive atmosphere immediately falls over him and his crew. Making his way to the counter at the back of the bar, his ears pick up the sounds of crying children.

Makino is the first to see him through her tears, "Shanks."

Luffy's head snaps up to look at the red head, rivers of tears running down his face. "Shanks!" The young boy jumps off of his bar stool, runs over to Shanks, and clutches the man's legs. Luffy is now sobbing into Shanks' pants leg.

Shanks wraps an arm affectionately around the crying boy before turning his attention to Makino. He asks her, "Where's lil' Devi? What's happened?"

He's expecting Makino to answer him, but instead it's his former captain's son, Ace. "We were exploring the forest in the southwest part of the island when Dev just disappeared." Ace's voice is shaking and it's obvious that he's trying his hardest to keep from crying.

"When did she go missin'?" Shanks asks while gently rubbing Luffy's head.

"Five days ago," replies a blonde haired boy that Shanks has never met, but assumes is Sabo based on Devlin's description of the boy. Tears are freely running down Sabo's face as well as Luffy's.

"We've sent out search parties every day since, but as you can see there's not a lot of hope left..." Shanks' left hand goes into his pocket and clutches the gift he got for the blonde hair girl. "The mayor actually called off searching for her anymore, just before you arrived." Makino breaks down crying and Shanks walks over to comfort her, Luffy still clinging to his right leg. He holds Makino as she cries into his chest.

Ace jumps to his feet and yells, "No! I don't care what that stupid mayor says! Dev isn't dead! I know she's still alive! She's too stubborn to die! I refuse give up on her!"

Shanks looks over at Ace and sees his former captain, Gol D. Roger, full force. He looks back at Makino and tells her, "It'll be okay, lass. We're here now and Ben is one o' the best trackers in the world." Makino's crying slightly subsides and Shanks looks at Ben Beckman. "Ben, is there a chance that you can track her?"

Ben takes a long drag on his newly lit cigarette, "Maybe." Ace's face lights up and both Luffy and Sabo's sobbing is reduced to sniffling as they try to stay quiet so that they can hear better. "Has it rained since she went missing?"

Makino pulls away from Shanks and nods, "It rained the other night."

Ben shakes his head, "It's not looking good...The rain alone I could have delt with, but combined with the fact that there's been people moving around out there for five days and that it's dark out...But at least Dev will have fresh water to drink, so there's a chance that she's still alive."

"There's a full moon tonight," Shanks informs Ben.

Ben nods, "That will help. Well, captain, I'm up for the challenge." Ace, Luffy, and Sabo start to cheer, but Ben quickly stops them. "I can't guarantee that I will find anything, but I will certainly try my best."


	5. Chapter 5: And Found!

**_Chapter 5: ...And Found!_**

 **A/N: I made a mistake in the last chapter. I should have used 'drop anchor' instead of 'weigh anchor' when Shanks was docking at Foosha Village. There's a few more chapters before skipping 10 years. Thanks for reading!**

Dev sits; shivering and trying her hardest to not just lay down and give up; by the pile of rotting leaves that she fell into when she fell down into this subterranean cave. After spending several days exploring the cave, she discovered that there is only one way in...and out. She then returned to the hole she originally fell through and tried calling for help, hoping that somebody would hear her. She yelled until she lost her voice.

That was yesterday...at least she thinks that it was yesterday...she's not entirely sure how much time has passed since she has no way of telling time down here. Now Devlin is sitting on the ground with the strange jewel lighting the area around her. She's cold and very, very hungry and she's beginning to lose hope that somebody will find her.

"This is where we stopped to have lunch," Ace says as he comes to a stop after leading Shanks and Benn Beckman to the place where he had last seen Dev.

Shanks holds the lantern he's holding high in the air in order to get a better overall look at the area. Even in the dim light, he can tell that things aren't looking very good for finding Dev's trail. The grass around them has been trampled flat by the feet of so many people walking around for five days.

Benn grimaces, "Which way did she go?"

The blonde hair boy with the missing front tooth, Sabo, points to the west. "She headed in that direction, but we lost sight of her in the trees when she went about half a mile. After that, we don't know what direction she went."

Benn nods and walks in the direction that Sabo indicated. He lowers his own lantern then crouches down to examine the ground more carefully. "Has Luffy been on any of these searches?"

Ace answers him, "A couple, but he usually stays close to us or Makino."

"I might have something...but then again it might be nothing more than a false lead from one of the days these boys were searching."

"We have ta take the chance, lil' Devi has ta be close ta starvation by now."

Benn nods, "The trail leads this way. Follow me." The three fall into line behind the older man: Sabo directly behind Benn, then Ace, and Shanks brings up the rear with his free hand close to the hilt of his sword in case of danger.

They continue following the trail for almost two hours; during which they change directions frequently and unexpectedly. At one point, the trail zig-zags so badly that Shanks wonders if Devlin had managed to snatch a bottle of rum somewhere.

Benn finally stops and looks around, scratching the back of his head in confusion. "The trail's gone."

Shanks feels his heart clench, "What do ye mean? Was it washed away by the rain?"

Benn shakes his head, "No, it's just gone. Like she vanished into thin air."

Ace shushes everyone, "Can you hear that?"

They all remain quiet and listen carefully until they finally hear a very faint, "Help!"

"Dev!" Ace and Sabo start shouting the little girl's name.

A louder cry of, "Help!" can be heard this time and the two boys begin to frantically search the area.

Benn's frown deepens, "I don't like this, captain."

Shanks looks at him, "What is it, Benn?"

"I don't like how the trail just disappears...there could be pitfalls around here."

Something clicks inside of Shanks' head and he rushes forward to grab the two boys by the collars of their shirts just as the ground crumbles beneath the boys' feet.

Shanks sits the boys back on their feet, "Thanks." They both say to the red headed man.

An indignant cry is heard from the newly exposed hole and an angry feminine voice yells, "Hey! I asked to be _rescued_ not _buried alive_!"

"Dev!" Ace and Sabo shout happily as they move cautiously to the edge of the hole. "What happened? How long have you been down there? Are you okay?" The two boys start asking the girl questions one after another.

"I'm cold, hungry, and thirsty." Dev whines.

Shanks takes off his black cloak and the canteen full of water provided by Makino. Raising his voice so that Devlin will be able to hear him Shanks says, "Lass, are ye hurt? Anything broken or are ye bleeding?"

"Shanks?! Is that really you?!"

"Aye, luv. Benn and I are both here. Now I need ta know if yer hurt."

"No...at least nothing major. I have a few cuts and bruises, but they're not serious." Dev falls silent for a moment then says, "I don't know how I only have scrapes and bruises though...I only fell into a pile of dead leaves."

Benn speaks up, "Devlin, do you think that you can manage to start a fire?"

"I don't know...it's kinda damp down here."

Benn reaches into his pocket and pulls out some matches, "Here, captain, add these to the bundle you're making." Shanks takes the matches from his first mate and puts them on his cloak next to the canteen. Benn then turns to Ace and Sabo, who are now pestering and teasing Dev. "Boys, help me gather some kindling, but be sure to stay close to me in case there's more pitfalls around." Benn starts to walk off with the two boys on either side of him.

Meanwhile, Shanks continues to put together a small care package for Dev. He searches his pockets for anything that could be useful. He finds some string, which can be used to bundle the kindling together. He also finds the present he had made for Dev; a sliver bracelet with a charm of his jolly roger. He puts the gift back into his pocket for now.

"Hello?! Hello?! Is anyone still there?!" Dev's voice is now panic-stricken, "Don't leave me! Please don't leave me!"

Speaking loudly Shanks answers her, "It's okay, luv. I'm still here. The others just went ta get some firewood so ye can warm yerself up, okay?" As he's trying to comfort Dev, he rolls up his cloak, and ties the ends together. "Devi, I'm sending my cloak down ta ye. Inside ye will find water and some matches. Now this is very important, luv, make sure ta sip the water. If ye drink it too fast you'll get sick and throw up and that will make ye even more dehydrated."

"Okay."

"Tell me when it hits the ground." He drops the cloak over the edge of the hole then waits. "Devi? Luv?"

A soft thud is heard and Dev shouts, "Okay, it hit the ground!"

Shanks furrows his eyebrows and frowns; this situation isn't good but hopefully he's wrong. Maybe the hole isn't as deep as he thinks it is.

Benn and the boys return each of them carrying an armful of wood. Ben says, "Thought we could make a fire of our own for warmth and to keep the wild animals away." He sees the worried look on his captain's face and asks, "What's wrong?"

"The hole is deeper than we expected," Shanks replies, while using the string to tie Sabo and Ace's pile of sticks together.

"How deep?"

Shanks holds the bundle of kindling out over the hole, "Devi, luv? I need ye ta get ta a safe place. I'm about ta drop some kindling down and it will hurt ye if it hits ye. Just let me know when yer out o' the way."

Thirty seconds pass in silence and then a faint "Okay," is heard.

Shanks releases the bundle and they wait for a couple of moments until the bundle hits the ground with a thud.

There's a sharp intake of breath from Benn Beckman. "Captain...that's at least a seventy-five foot drop. At least."

Devi picks up Shanks' cloak then starts to untie it. She finds the matches, but sets them aside for now. She picks up the canteen and is about to take a huge gulp when she remembers what Shanks told her and takes a small sip instead.

She throws Shanks' cloak on and it completely engulfs her, surrounding her in his scent. It's a strange smell, but a very pleasant one; a mixture of the ocean, pine wood, and something else she can't quite put her finger on. Most likely rum or sake.

Dev then turns to the bundle of kindling and begins trying to start a fire. After several failed attempts, she finally manages to start a small fire. "Okay, I got a small fire going...what now?!"

Shanks let's out a frustrated sigh, "I was hoping I was wrong about it being that deep."

Ace and Sabo look at the pirate captain with desperate looks, "What's going to happen next? We can't just leave her down there!" Ace shouts.

"First, we wait 'til we find out if Devi can start a fire down there. If she can, ye two will go with Benn back ta town where ye will wait 'til the morn when my crew will gather some rope."

The two boys start to protest with, "But we want to stay with Dev!" and "Why do we have to wait until the morning?!"

Benn flicks his cigarette into the pile of dead leaves underneath their own stack of wood and slowly a fire starts to spring to life. "You have to go back to town because the last thing the captain needs is for one of you boys to wander off and fall into another pit."

Shanks sighs, "And we have ta wait 'til the morn cause the only length of rope that can reach the bottom of the pit is in the rigging of our ship. The crew will need ta see what they're doing fer that."

Benn looks at Shanks, "You mean from the main sail? Taking that down will be simple enough, but putting it back up will take weeks. Which means we'll be stranded here for that time."

Shanks nods, "Aye, I know. But we can't leave the wee lass down there much longer. And I doubt anyone on this island has any rope over 30 feet."

"Okay, I got a small fire going...what now?" Dev's voice carries up to them.

"That's great, luv. Benn is going ta take the boys back ta town, but they'll return when it's light out."

Dev starts to panic and whine, "Don't leave me! Please don't leave me!"

"I'm not leaving ye, luv. I'll stay right here with ye 'til we get ye out o' that hole." Shanks looks at his first mate, "When ye get back inform everyone that we've found Devi and that she's not hurt."

Benn nods, "Of course, captain."

Ace frowns at the two men and stomps his foot, "I'm staying right here with Devlin."

"Ace, the captain has enough to worry about," Benn tells the black haired boy.

Shanks looks at the stubborn boy and sighs, "It's okay, Benn. I'm sure Ace won't cause me any problems. Besides he seems ta cheer the lass up."

Benn nods at his captain then looks at Sabo when the boy says, "I'll go back to the village with Mister Beckman. Someone needs to keep an eye on Luffy."

Once this is decided, Benn and Sabo begin to head back to Foosha Village while Shanks and Ace huddle close to the fire. Without really meaning to Ace falls asleep. "Is anyone still there?!" Dev calls out.

"Aye, luv. Ace and I are both still here."

"My fire has gone out. I think it's too damp down here."

"That's okay. Try and get some sleep, luv."

There is silence for about ten minutes before Dev speaks again, "I can't fall asleep."

"Maybe a little shanty will help ye sleep, luv." Shanks says before starting to sing causing Ace to jolt awake and sit up.

" _Yo-ho-ho-ho, yo-ho-ho-ho_

 _Yo-ho-ho-ho, yo-ho-ho-ho_

 _Yo-ho-ho-ho, yo-ho-ho-ho_

 _Yo-ho-ho-ho, yo-ho-ho-ho_

 _Making a delivery, bringing it across the sea_

 _Bink's sake in the hold, as we sail through the breeze_

 _Far across the eye can see, the sun is shining merrily_

 _As the birds fly in the sky, as they sing out with glee_

 _Bid adieu to everyone, as we sail under the sun_

 _Sailing on from dusk 'til dawn and singing out as one_

 _Cross the gold and silver waves, changing into water sprays_

 _Sailing out on our journey, to the ends of the sea_

 _Making a delivery, of Bink's sake through the sea_

 _Let be shown that we are known, as pirates sailing free_

 _Time to raise the flag up high, of Jolly Roger in the sky_

 _Raise the sails and tell the tales, that never pass you by_

 _Somewhere in the endless sky, a storm has started coming by_

 _Waves a-dancing, sails a-prancing through the wind and rain_

 _If we let blow winds of fear, then the end of us is near_

 _Even so tomorrow the sun will rise again_

 _Yo-ho-ho-ho, yo-ho-ho-ho_

 _Yo-ho-ho-ho, yo-ho-ho-ho_

 _Yo-ho-ho-ho, yo-ho-ho-ho_

 _Yo-ho-ho-ho, yo-ho-ho-ho_

 _Making a delivery, of Bink's sake through the sea_

 _Through today and through tomorrow, all your dreams will lay_

 _Say goodbye should we depart, and keep your memories in your heart_

 _Don't you frown and don't feel down, but live to seize the day_

 _Making a delivery, of Bink's sake through the sea_

 _Sailing on from dusk 'til dawn, and singing out as one_

 _After all is said and done, we all end up as skeletons_

 _Tales unending, rules a-bending, journey just begun_

 _Yo-ho-ho-ho, yo-ho-ho-ho_

 _Yo-ho-ho-ho, yo-ho-ho-ho_

 _Yo-ho-ho-ho, yo-ho-ho-ho_

 _Yo-ho-ho-ho, yo-ho-ho-ho."_

Shanks finishes the song and Dev yells up, "I like that song!"

"Me too," says Ace.

"I thought ye might. Now both of ye should try ta get some sleep."

Ace lays back down on the ground, but can't get comfortable. Seventy-five feet bellow Ace, Dev is having the same problem, even though she's wrapped up tightly in Shanks' cloak. She finally gives up trying to sleep and sits up. Dev decides to ask Shanks the question that's been on her mind since she fell down into the cave. "Shanks?"

"What is it, luv?"

"What if the reason that I survived the fall is because I'm a monster?"

A frown appears on both Ace's and Shanks' faces. Shanks asks her, "Where would ye get the idea that yer a monster, luv?"

"That's what my family called me when they tried to kill me."

"What!" Ace shouts in astonishment.

"Do ye want ta tell us what happened?"

"I'm not entirely sure what exactly happened. I remember that as we got close to the island a Sea King attacked our boat, but then I blacked out and don't know what occurred. The next thing that I remember the Sea King was dead and my family was looking at me in fear and calling me a monster. When we landed, my parents attacked me with daggers and my older brother beat me with an oar. They left me to die in a pool of my own blood and sailed away. When I was sure they were gone, I managed to get to my feet and made my way into the woods and that's when Mister Garp found me."

Shanks' straw hat is pulled down to cover his eyes, but the hat cannot hide the huge scowl on his face. He takes a deep breath to calm down before telling Devlin, "Humans, monsters, heroes, villains- these are words people throw around all the time. It's all a matter of semantics; someone could call themselves a hero and still walk around killing dozens, but someone else could be labeled a villain for trying ta stop them."

"But what if I really am a monster? And what if I hurt those that I care about?"

"We are all monsters in someone else's eyes, Devi. Marines and most o' the population o' the world see pirates as monsters. And pirates see marines as monsters that want ta limit their freedom. The thing ta decide is what kind of monster ta be. The kind who builds towns or the kind who breaks them. It's all up ta you, luv. Only _you_ can decide whether ta be someone who protects or someone who destroys."

"I want to be a protector."

Shanks grins, "Then become strong and tame that so called monster inside o' ye, Devlin." There is a couple of moments of silence before Shanks speaks up again, "Do ye know what yer name means in my native language, luv?"

There's a loud yawn from down below and then Dev's voice asks, "No, what?"

"Fierce courage."

"Cool!"

The three fall into a comfortable silence and after about five minutes Ace falls backwards on to the ground, fast asleep. Another five minutes pass by and Shanks can hear snoring coming from the hole. As he watches the slowly dying fire, Shanks yawns and closes his eyes, making sure to use his kenbunshoku haki to stay alert to any danger that could be around.

A couple of hours later, Dev wakes up shivering from the cold. She sits up and wraps the cloak tighter around her small body. "Shanks?!" she calls up to the pirate captain, but receives no answer. "Ace?!" Again no answer. Dev gets shakily to her feet and pulls up her pants, which are now too big for her. "Shanks?! Ace?! Is anybody still up there?!" When nobody answers, she stumbles over to one of the cavern's walls and, in a blind panic, begins to frantically climb. She gets about ten six feet up when the rocks under her hands crumble causing her to fall back down to the hard ground. She lands on a large rock and a sharp pain goes through her body as a couple of her ribs break. Dev cries out in pain and just lays on the ground sobbing for a while. Then, sniffling, she sits up wincing from the pain in her right side. "If I can't even get myself out of this silly little hole then I don't deserve to be a pirate," she says out loud to herself. "How can my future nakama trust me with their lives...when I can't even protect myself!" She slowly stands up then balls both of her hands into fists in determination. "I've decided! I'm going to become stronger and join Shanks' crew!"

Dev pulls her pants up again before taking off Shanks' cloak and wrapping it around her waist like an obi. She then kicks off her flimsy flip-flops, knowing that they will only impede her during the climb. She walks over to the cave wall and glares at it with a determined look on her face. "The first step in becoming stronger is to get out of this cave by myself!" She looks at the strange glowing jewel in her hand before putting it in one of her pockets. The cave is instantly devoured by darkness, but to Dev's great surprise she can still see even though it's now pitch black. "I _will_ get out of this cave! And I _will join_ the Red Hair Pirates!" She places her hands on the wall and starts to climb.

 _ **A/N: Did you know that there's at least four different versions of Bink's Sake? I chose this version for a special reason which will be revealed soon. I also want to Thank Everyone who followed and favorited this story. And an extra special to** Sakurapm38, **and** KingCreations, **and** surgeonlaw **for your comments!**_


	6. Chapter 6: The Devil's Diamond

**_Chapter 6: The Devil's Diamond._**

As the darkness of the night sky gives way first to the dark Navy blue and then to the dark red and orange of approaching dawn, Devlin's small, bloody hand reaches out of the large hole. She digs her fingers into the dirt and then her other bloody hand reaches up and does the same as the first hand. Using the last of her strength, Dev pulls herself up out of the hole. She collapses on the ground, panting heavily.

She hears shuffling and then the sound of someone striking a match. The soft light of an oil lantern falls over her and a masculine voice says, "Devi? Did ye climb outta that hole all by yerself, luv?"

"Shanks..." she whimpers in pain and exhaustion.

A lantern is placed on the ground beside Dev and a pair of arms lift her slightly off of the ground then carefully turns her over onto her back. The red headed man takes a sharp intake of breath when he sees her bloody hands and feet. "Bloody hell, luv. Look at yer hands and feet...Why wouldn't ya just wait a few more hours?"

"What's going on?" Ace's sleep filled voice asks. He sits up and rubs his eyes. When Ace's eyes adjust, he sees Devlin in Shanks arms and shouts, "Dev?! You're out of the hole!" He jumps to his feet and rushes over to them, but comes to a sudden stop when he notices that her hands and feet are covered in blood. "Devlin...what happened to you? Why are you covered in blood?"

"I'm okay, Ace. I just cut my hands and feet on the rocks." The little blonde tells him before turning her attention back to Shanks. "I wanted to get out by myself in order to become stronger. If I'm not strong enough to protect myself, then how can I protect my future nakama?"

Shanks smiles at Devlin, "True strength doesn't come from what ye can do physically. It comes from when ya go through hardships and decide not ta give up. That's how ye become truly strong; by picking yerself up no matter how many times ye fall or how hard. So I believe yer well on yer way ta becoming very strong, luv." Dev looks at the red haired pirate captain in awe then hugs him tightly. He returns her embrace, frowning slightly at how cold she feels. Shanks unties his cloak from around Dev's waist before draping it over her. He then picks her up in his arms before standing up. "Now, let's get ye ta a doctor." Dev wraps her arms around Shanks' neck.

"I can carry her!" Ace says while tugging on Shanks' left pants leg.

Shanks looks down at the black haired boy who is staring up at him with a determined look on his face. "Sorry, lad, but we need ta get Devi back ta Foosha quickly and I can carry her faster than ye can." Ace's face falls in disappointment and Shanks quickly adds, "There is something important that I need ya ta do, Ace." The boy perks up a little, "I need ya ta pick up the lantern and lead the way back ta the village."

Ace nods, "Okay." He picks up the oil lantern before he starts to lead the way back to Foosha Village at a fast pace.

Dev yawns loudly and lays her head on Shanks' shoulder. "Shanks?"

"What is it, luv?"

"I've decided I'm gonna be a Red Haired Pirate when I'm older."

"Oh? And do _I_ have a say in this? I am the captain after all."

"No," she says firmly.

"Dahahahaha!" Shanks laughs, amused by this spunky little girl.

They walk in silence for about five minutes until light snoring from Devlin breaks it. Now that Dev is asleep Ace asks Shanks, "Is Dev going to be okay?" Ace looks at the blonde girl in worry.

Shanks shifts the little girl in his arms, "It will take a lil' while for her ta regain the weight that she's lost, but she's a tough lil' lass and she'll be fine." Ace looks relieved at the news that Dev is going to be okay.

By the time they reach Foosha Village, the sun is just peeking above the horizon. Ace suddenly stops and turns to face Shanks, "What now? I don't think the village doctor is at his office yet."

"We'll take her ta the Red Force. Lucky Roo will be able ta patch her up." The two head towards Shanks' ship and as they get closer they can see men on deck and on top of the mast.

"Captain!" Yasopp shouts as he spots Shanks and Ace approaching.

"Wake Lucky Roo and have him meet me in the infirmary!" Shanks yells back as he walks up the boarding plank and on to the ship.

Benn is there to greet him, "I see that you managed to get Devlin out of the pit, captain."

Shanks shakes his head and continues to walk, making his way to the stern of the ship where the infirmary is located. "No, the lass got herself out." He stops and looks over his shoulder at his first mate, "Tell the crew that they no longer have ta take down the rigging." Benn nods his head and walks away. Shanks then looks over at Ace, who is still by his side, "Would ye mind goin' ta Party's Bar and telling everyone there that Devi's safe?"

"Yeah. Okay," Ace agrees. He casts one last look over at the sleeping blonde in the pirate captain's arms before taking off in the direction of the bar, running as fast as he can.

Once Ace is gone, Shanks opens the door to the infirmary then walks inside. He gently places Dev down on an empty bed, having to pry her arms from around his neck. Shanks removes his cloak from over her body as Lucky Roo enters the room and walks over the bed. "Captain," Roo greets Shanks before starting to examine Dev. "How'd you get Dev out of the pit?"

"I didn't. The lass climbed out by herself," Shanks replies. "What's the extent of her injuries, Roo?"

"Well, she's malnourished and dehydrated," Lucky Roo lifts both of Dev's hands to examine the bloody palms then moves to look at her feet. "Her hands and feet are badly cut, but I'll need to wash the blood off first to see how deep the cuts are." Roo notices that Dev's breathing is shallow and uneven. "She seems to be having trouble breathing," he presses his hand against her right side and moves his hand up towards her shoulder. Dev whimpers in pain in her sleep when Roo gets halfway up her ribcage, "She has a couple of broken ribs." He looks up at his captain, "You said that she _climbed_ out by herself?"

Shanks nods his head, "Aye."

"That's amazing. She shouldn't have had the strength to even _stand_."

"I know. With the proper training, she will be a remarkable haki user when she's older."

A few days later, Dev finally wakes up. She yawns loudly and stretches her arms, but stops when she feels something in her left arm. She looks over at her arm and sees that she's hooked up to an IV and that her hands, feet, and abdomen are wrapped in bandages. "Ah, finally awake I see," a male voice says causing Dev to look in the direction that the voice came from.

"Lucky Roo!" She says happily when she sees the large man sitting on a chair with a large chunk of meat in his mouth. "Where's Shanks?"

Lucky Roo chuckles as he stands up and begins removing Dev's IV needle. "He took Ace to Party's Bar for something to eat. The captain had to drag him away from your bedside. That boy is dedicated; he's been by your side since Shanks brought you here a few days ago." Once the needle is out of her arm, Dev sits up and practically jumps out of the bed. "Whoa! Take it easy, Dev."

The little girl pouts up at Roo, "But I wanna see Shanks."

"The captain's not going anywhere. But if you reopen the cuts on your hands and feet, you will be stuck in here for a few more days." Dev sighs and sits back down on the bed. Roo walks over to an empty bed and picks up a bundle of clothes and a pair of boots. He walks back over to Dev then places the clothes beside her on the bed. "Makino brought these by for you. Once you get dressed you're free to go."

"Thanks, Roo," Dev says, picking up the clothing.

"No problem. Just be careful not to reopen your wounds." Lucky Roo gives the hyperactive blonde a huge grin before leaving the infirmary.

Dev quickly gets dressed in the pair of black shorts and blue t-shirt. She pulls on a pair of white socks before slipping on the black boots. She ties the laces then hops off the bed. She leaves the infirmary and walks over to the Red Force's masthead. She hugs the wooden neck of the dragon before looking around to see if Lucky Roo is watching. Not seeing the Red Haired Pirates' doctor, Devlin takes off running. She runs off of the Red Force and all the way to Party's Bar. She stops right outside of the swinging double doors. She walks through the doors and looks around for her favorite red head.

Dev spots Shanks at the back of the bar, sitting at the counter with Ace, Sabo, and Luffy. An idea pops into her head and she chuckles at her wicked prank. Sticking to the shadows, Dev makes her way across the room to the staircase that leads up to the second floor where the spare rooms that Makino rents out are. Dev goes unnoticed by most of the people in the bar except by a select few; Benn Beckman, Yasopp, and Shanks. She walks up the stairs and looks around for anything she can tie around her waist. She finds a length of rope and ties one end around her waist then walks over to the bannister. She looks over the railing to see where Ace, Sabo, and Luffy are sitting. She moves to where she's over the three boys and ties the other end of the rope to the bannister, making sure it's short enough so that she doesn't do a face plant into the wooden counter. She then climbs on the railing and falls forward over the edge. The rope stops Dev right in front of the boys' faces. "Eeeyaarrgh!" she screams with her mouth open and tongue hanging out.

"AAAAHHHH!" All three boys scream in surprise, falling backwards off of their bar stools followed by three loud 'thuds' as they hit the floor.

Dev and the Red Haired Pirates burst out laughing. Ace is the first one to get back on his feet. "Damn it, Dev! That wasn't funny!" He begins to spin her around in a circle...fast. Dev manages to untie the end of the rope that's around her waist, but not before she's thoroughly dizzy. She lands face down on the countertop and the three boys immediately pile on top of her. "Don't ever wander off like that again!" Ace scalds her.

"We were so worried about you!" Sabo tells her.

"I'm so sorry, Dev!" Luffy apologizes.

All the noise brings Makino out of the kitchen, "What's going on?"

"Devi decided to make a grand entrance by pullin' a prank on the boys." Shanks tells Makino while pointing at the rope.

Makino sighs in exasperation, but can't keep an affectionate smile from spreading across her face. "That doesn't surprise me," she then turns to the pile of children. "Come on boys. Get off Devlin so she can get something to eat." Luffy gets up first since he's on top, then Sabo, and finally, after hesitating for a moment or two, Ace gets up. All three boys slide off of the counter and sit back down on their bar stools. Dev sits up and is almost instantly pulled into a hug by the green haired bartender. "You had everyone worried, Devlin." Makino releases the blonde haired girl before grabbing the end of the hanging rope, "I see that you're already causing trouble."

"But, Makino..." Dev stands up, walks over to where Shanks is sitting, and flops down on his lap causing the red headed man to let out a little 'ofmph.' "Life would be boring without a little trouble."

"Dahahahaha! Spoken like a true pirate, luv!" Shanks says, taking off his hat and placing it on the blonde girl's head. Dev is absolutely delighted while Ace and Luffy huff in jealousy; Luffy because he wants to wear Shanks' straw hat and Ace, well, he's not sure why he's feeling jealous.

Makino smiles at the pirate captain and his young female admirer before returning to the kitchen. She walks back out a few minutes later with a plate of biscuits and gravy with sausage links on the side. Makino places the plate down in front of a drooling Dev along with a glass of milk. "Thank you, Makino!" Dev says and picks up the fork that's on the plate.

Luffy's hand appears at the edge of Dev's plate and she quickly stabs his hand with her fork; not very hard, of course, but hard enough to get Luffy to withdraw his hand. "Ow!"

"That's what you get for trying to steal a hungry girl's food!" Dev says, placing her arms around her plate protectively.

Ace shakes his head, "You know what, Dev? You're the devil."

Makino, who has just left the kitchen again carrying two plates this time, hears what Ace has just said and frowns at him. "Portgas D. Ace! What have I told you about comparing Devlin to the devil?" She places a plate down in front of Luffy and the other in front of Ace.

"That it's offensive to the devil," Ace replies.

"Shishishishi!" Luffy bursts out laughing.

"Dahahahaha! Ya kids are great."

Makino huffs and scalds the pirate captain, "Don't encourage them, Shanks. They're enough of a handful as it is." She walks back into the kitchen then returns with two more plates. She places one down in front of Sabo then shoos Dev off of Shanks' lap so that he can eat. Dev moves over to the empty bar stool on Shanks' right before starting to devour her food.

Of course, Luffy's and Ace's plates are already bare; the food disappeared into the bottomless pits that is their stomachs. "Did you find any treasure on your trip, Shanks?" Luffy asks excitedly.

Shanks swallows the food in his mouth before answering, "Unfortunately, no. But we did get a good lead ta where another treasure could be."

Dev suddenly remembers the jewel that she found and eats the last bite of her breakfast. "I found a treasure when I was in that hole," she says.

"Ye did?" Shanks asks, raising an eyebrow at the girl and taking a bite of his food.

"Uh huh. It was in a huge cavern on top of a large rock pedestal." She pushes her empty plate aside, "It's very pretty and even glows when it's dark." Dev sits on the countertop where her plate once was and reaches into her pocket. Her hand wraps around the gem then she pulls it out. There is a huge grin on Dev's face and she looks at Shanks with sparkling eyes and holds her hand out towards him. "I got it for you, Shanks." She opens her fist to reveal the blue, green, and white gem; the splash of red in the center seems to pulse in her hand.

Shanks grins at the young girl, puts down the fork in his left hand, then takes the jewel from Dev. "It is really gorgeous. Thank ye, luv." Shanks hugs her tightly causing Dev's smile to widen. Shanks releases Dev and begins to closely examine the jewel. Devlin notices Luffy's hand approaching Shanks' unguarded plate. She removes Shanks' straw hat and places it back on top of it's owner's head. She then pounces on the younger boy, knocking him off of his seat, and the two begin to wrestle around on the ground. Shanks chuckles at the two's antics before calling over his shoulder for his first mate, "Benn, could ye come over here for a moment?"

The older man gets up from the table where he's sitting and walks over to Shanks, "What is it, captain?"

Shanks shows Benn the jewel Dev gave him, "What do ye think? Pure sea stone?"

Benn picks it up and examines it closely, "No. It seems to be a kind of diamond." His face becomes serious and he lowers his voice so that only Shanks can hear him, "I'm not sure, but I _think_ it may be a Devil's Diamond."

The young pirate captain looks confused, "What's a Devil's Diamond?"

Benn pulls out a cigarette and a match from his pocket. He puts the butt of the cigarette in his mouth, flicks his thumbnail against the match head causing a small flame to spring to life, and lights the end of his cigarette with it. "According to the book I read, a Devil's Diamond is said to appear whenever a child with the cursed blood of a sea devil is born. The diamond is said to be the only thing that can control and even kill a sea devil."

Shanks' eyes quickly dart over to Dev, who is now being pulled away from Luffy by Ace. "Ye don't think...lil' Devi...?"

Benn shakes his head, "I don't think so. The diamond is meant to control a sea devil so it only makes sense that if she was a sea devil she wouldn't be able to touch it." Shanks sighs in relief as Benn exhales smoke, "Then again...maybe I'm wrong. Maybe this _isn't_ a Devil's Diamond. The fact is no one has seen one in over a hundred years and very little is known about them." He hands the diamond back to Shanks, "Maybe you should ask Rayleigh about it the next time we see him. He's bound to know more about it."

"I'm definitely goin' ta do that," Shanks says. "Until I can talk ta him, we need ta keep this between the two of us. I don't want anyone ta find out about this diamond and try ta kill lil' Devi thinkin' she's a sea devil."

"My lips are sealed, captain," Benn says, before walking back to his table. He passes Devi; who is making her way back to Shanks; and places a hand on top of her head then ruffles her hair. Dev laughs and continues walking towards her favorite red head with a huge grin on her face.

 ** _A/N: I'm so sorry this took so long. I'm in the process of moving so updates may be a little hectic._**


	7. Important Author's Note

**_Important Author's Note:_**

I'm SO SORRY for not updating this story for so long. I promise I'm typing up the next chapter now so it should be up in a couple of days. I've been busy with my other story Fallen Angel, but now that FA is coming to an end I will soon be able focus fully on this story.

Anyway I didn't post this note just to apologise. I'm curious about all of your opinions on something. As most of you could probably tell, this story is going to include elements from several different animes. (Dev herself is basically a female Naruto.) What I was wondering is how you all would feel if I made it to where there are different islands (on the Grand Line or the New World) that represent different manga? Because I want to have our hyperactive blonde meet certain characters and learn certain moves from them. Maybe even have a little side crush here or there. This idea popped in my head because I want her to train with a certain larger-than-life hero (I am here!) while she's traveling to become stronger.

So what do you guys think? Should I go with this crossover idea or not? I truly do value your opinions on this. At the end of the month, I will go on how many positive and negative comments I get on the idea.

Please give me your opinions!


	8. Chapter 7: Shanks' Promise

A/N: I'm so sorry I took so long with this chapter. I've been so focused on finishing my other story that I kinda lost interest in this one. But my other story is almost done and I'll be able to focus all my attention on this story.

Makino makes Devlin rest in bed for an entire week before letting the hyperactive blonde girl run amok again. During this week, Ace and Shanks visit Dev everyday, Luffy visits every other day, while Sabo visits her when he can. Dev passes the time, when she doesn't have any visitors, by making a necklace for Shanks. The necklace is made of strong, thick twine and with Makino's guidance Dev manages to braid a few red, white, and black beads in the twine as decorations. She then twists a piece of wire to wrap around the crystal that she gave to Shanks. She bends one end of the wire into a hoop then slides the twine through the hoop.

Once she's done, she gives the necklace to Shanks. After making small alterations to the wire so that the Devil's Diamond will fit better, the red-headed pirate captain slips it over his head. The necklace is long enough so that Shanks can hide the jewel under his shirt. "Thank ye, lass. I'll wear it everyday."

This makes Dev so happy that she begins jumping up and down on the bed, shouting about how she's going to be a Red Haired Pirate. All of Dev's shouting brings Makino and Ace running into the room. Makino sees the little girl bouncing all over the place and sighs. "Devlin! I told you to rest!"

Ace marches over to the bed, climbs onto it, and starts to fight with the blonde girl. "Makino said that you've got to rest and that's what you're gonna do, Dev. Even if I have to knock you out to do it!" Makino makes a deadpan face at the two children while Shanks bursts out laughing at their antics.

Finally after a week of being forced to stay in bed, Makino let's hurricane Devlin loose once again. And almost immediately, she gets in trouble for pulling a prank on the mayor.

Currently, Dev is on board the Red Force with the Red Haired Pirates and Luffy. Luffy is standing on top of the dragon head figurehead while Dev is standing beside Shanks on the deck. "Oi! What are ye doing, Luffy?" Shanks shouts up to the young boy.

Luffy holds up a knife, "I've had it with you guys!!! Now you'll have to take me seriously!! This is how tough I am!!"

"Dahahaha! Get it over with! Whatever it is!" Shanks yells back, waving his left arm in the air.

"What's that pup up to now?" One of Shanks' newest crew members, Shiro, asks from beside Shanks and Devlin.

"Something stupid, I'm sure." Dev walks closer to the figurehead then yells, "Luffy! Get down from there! That's my spot!"

Suddenly, Luffy stabs himself just below his left eye with the knife. The pirates are all taken by surprise, but Dev immediately starts to climb up the neck of the figurehead. "Luffy you frickin moron!" Dev yells over Luffy's pain filled cries.

"Ye idiot! What'd ye do that fer?!" Shanks shouts up at the boy.

Dev makes it to the dragon's head where Luffy is clutching his bleeding cheek. "YEOWWWW!" he yells in pain.

Dev walks over to Luffy, "Let me see, Lu." He moves his hands away from his wound so that she can see how bad it is. "Hmm, you're definitely going to need stitches. Here," she pulls her blue shirt off over her head then presses it against the wound. "Now hold my shirt against your wound until we can get down and have Lucky Roo take a look at it."

"Okay," Luffy replies, his crying reduced to sniffling.

"You go first," Dev tells him. He nods his head at her before sliding down to the deck of the Red Force where Lucky Roo is waiting for him.

Dev slides down after Luffy, unable to stop herself from letting out a loud, "Wheee!" As soon as her feet hit the deck, she takes off running to where Shanks is standing with Lucky Roo, examining Luffy's wound. "Is he going to be okay?"

Shanks turns to her and raises an eyebrow at her state of dress. "He's goin' ta be fine. What happened ta yer shirt, lass?"

"I gave it to Luffy to help stop the bleeding."

Shanks smiles at her before ruffling her hair and teasing her, "Good thing ye don't have any breasts yet." Dev pouts and her face turns red in embarrassment. "Now, while Luffy is gettin' stitched up, why don't we go get ya a new shirt?"

They walk together to Party's Bar while Shanks tells Dev about how he got the scars over his eye. As soon as the two enter the nearly empty bar, Makino spots them and rushes over to them. "Devlin! Why are you running around shirtless...again?!"

"Again? How often do ye run around naked, lass?" Shanks asks the girl, amused.

"I like running around naked," is Dev's honest answer. "It makes Ace's face turn bright red, which is very funny."

Shanks laughs while Makino sighs in exasperation. "You can't be running around without any clothes on anymore, Devlin. You're becoming a young woman and your body will soon start to show it."

Dev sticks her tongue out, "When I'm a pirate I'm gonna run around naked all I want!"

Shanks chuckles, "That would be a bad idea, luv. Out at sea men sometimes go months without seein' a woman. So a naked woman runnin' around on deck would only be askin' fer trouble."

"Only if they could catch me."

"Dahahahaha!" Shanks bursts out laughing as Makino leads Dev upstairs to find her a spare shirt. Luckily, Makino keeps several around for both Dev and Luffy.

By the time the two return downstairs, the bar is filled with the Red Haired Pirates. Dev spots Shanks and Luffy sitting in their usual spots at the counter and runs over to them. She begins smacking Luffy repeatedly over the head while yelling, "YOU IDIOT! How could you do something so stupid! Ace is going to be so mad..." The pirates all laugh as Luffy makes a mad dash to get away from the angry blonde girl, which only results in her chasing him throughout the bar. Eventually, Dev grows bored of chasing Luffy and goes to sit on Shanks' lap.

Luffy makes his way back to his seat, his head now covered in large lumps from where Dev hit him. Makino walks out of the kitchen with a plate of food and a bottle of grog for Shanks. She sees the lumps on Luffy's head and glances at Devlin, who is looking anywhere but at the green haired woman and whistling innocently. Makino just smiles and places the food and drink down in front of Shanks before shooing Dev off of his lap.

As Dev sits down on the empty stool to the left of Shanks, Luffy begins shouting as loudly as he can. "I'm not the least bit afraid of getting hurt!! Take me with you on your next voyage!!"

Shanks gives Luffy a deadpan look, "Not afraid o' gettin' hurt, huh? Weren't ye just fleein' in terror from Devi just a few moments ago, lad?"

"That's different!! Dev is scary! Even Ace agrees! He says her face is scarier than the local sea monster!"

"Hey!" Dev shouts then sticks her tongue out at Luffy.

Shanks chuckles at the two. "Shanks! I'm serious! I wanna be a pirate too!!!" Luffy yells with his arms up in the air.

Shanks raises an eyebrow at the boy, "Ye?! A pirate?! Impossible!! Luffy, do ye know why we call ye 'Anchor'? Because ye can't swim...ye just sink!! What good is a pirate who can't swim?"

Luffy stands up on his seat, "But if I don't fall overboard, then it doesn't matter if I'm an anchor!! AND I'm a strong fighter!" He punches the air with his left fist, "I've been training! My punch is as powerful as a pistol!"

Shanks deadpans again, "A pistol, eh? Is that so..."

"ARE YOU DOUBTING ME?!" Luffy angrily yells.

From Shanks' left Devlin shouts, "Shanks, I'm a really good swimmer AND a good fighter! Let me join your crew! Even if it is just as a cabin girl!"

Shanks turns to look at her and places his left hand on top of her head. Ruffling her hair a little, he tells her, "I'm sorry, lass, but yer too young ta sail. Especially, on a ship with so many men on board." Dev begins to pout and gives Shanks her best puppy dog eyes. "Now don't ye be givin' me that look, lass. I'm not goin' ta change me mind on this. Maybe in ten years when yer older and stronger, then ye can join the crew."

A pirate with a spade tattoo above his left eye says, "C'mon cap'n...let's take them with us just this once..." Dev and Luffy smile from ear to ear.

"Aye!" Several other pirates agree, including Lucky Roo and Yasopp, as they dance together towards their captain. There are now stars shining in Dev and Luffy's eyes.

"Okay, but two o' ye will have ta stay behind."

Lucky, Yasopp, and the other three pirates immediately turn around, dancing away from Devlin and Luffy. "Sorry, Luffy, Dev, you've just been beached! Let's drink!!"

"Hey!!" Luffy shouts, "I thought you guys were on our side!"

Shanks points the spoon that's in his left hand at Luffy and then at Devlin, "Ye two are just too young."

"Cap'n Shanks! I'm telling you...I'm not a little kid!!!" Luffy yells.

"Don't get upset now. Here, have some milk," Shanks says, pushing a glass of milk towards Luffy.

"Oh boy! Thanks!" Luffy grabs the glass and gulps down the milk.

"Dahahahaha!" Shanks bursts out laughing, tears running down his face from laughing so hard. "See! A real pirate would never drink milk!!"

Luffy yells, "That was a dirty trick!"

Dev giggles at Shanks' trick and watches as Luffy stomps off only to be stopped by Benn Beckman. She turns her attention back to the red headed captain beside her. "Shanks?"

"Hmm?" He hums around a bite of food to show her that he's listening.

"Will you come back for me in three years?"

He looks down at the little blonde girl and is surprised to see that her usual cheerful smile is gone. He swallows the food in his mouth before replying, "I'm afraid not, lass. Ye will still be too young ta sail. As I said before, maybe in ten years."

"But ten years will be too late!" Dev yells, slamming her fists on the counter. "In three years, Mister Garp is going to send me off to an all girls school where they'll brainwash me into being a quote, prim and proper lady, end quote."

"Goin' ta a school fer girls won't be all _that_ bad, luv. As a matter o' fact, I believe that the lil' sister o' the greatest swordsman in the world is supposed ta be a teacher at one o' those schools. O' course, she's never taken a disciple before...but there's always a first time fer every thing."

Dev's mood is slightly lifted at the thought of learning how to wield a sword. "Really? That doesn't sound too bad. I think I could even stand to wear a yucky dress if it meant I could learn to use a sword." However, Dev's mood quickly sours again, "But ten years is still too long, Shanks!" Her head falls and there's a depressing aura around her. "You see...Mister Garp wants to marry me off when I turn 17... Probably to some uptight Marine who won't let me have any fun at all!" Her eyes fill with tears at the thought of being married to a complete stranger. "I...only have 7 years before I lose my freedom." Tears start to flow from her eyes like miniature rivers, "I don't want to have to be a lady or get married! Shanks! I just want to be free to be myself!!"

A calloused hand gently lifts Dev's head so that she's looking up at the red haired pirate. A gentle smile is on Shanks' face and he tells her, "I guess that just means that ye will have ta become as strong as ye can in seven years instead o' ten before settin' off ta find us."

Devlin's tears slowly come to a stop, "W...what?"

"When ye find us after those seven years and prove ta me how strong ye have become...then ye will be a Red Haired Pirate and travel with us upon the seas."

Dev's eyes widen in excitement, "R...really?!" Shanks' smile widens and he nods his head at her. She pounces on him, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. "Thank you!"

Shanks hugs her back, "There's no need ta thank me, lass. Work hard and become as strong as possible...Because in order ta prove ta me that yer strong enough ta be a Red Haired Pirate...yer goin' ta have ta fight me, lass."

"Does everyone who wants to join the crew have to fight you?" She asks curiously.

"No. I just need ta make sure that yer capable of defending yerself against a crew that's composed of men. Just in case."

Devlin pulls away and looks at him with a small frown on her face. "Do I have to win in order to join?"

Shanks pokes her nose with his index finger, "Maybe. But either way, I expect ye ta fight me like ye have ta win."

She grins up at him, "Then I better start learning everything that I can from the strongest people that I meet." She slides off of her seat and yells, "Hey, Yasopp! Will you teach me how to shoot?!"

Shanks watches as Devlin runs towards his sharpshooter, chuckling softly to himself. "It's goin' ta be interestin' ta see just how strong ye will become, lass."


End file.
